


The Beast Within

by Duarte89



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Catoniss, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-25
Updated: 2016-07-07
Packaged: 2018-02-18 18:43:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2358293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duarte89/pseuds/Duarte89
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I took a breath, feeling at ease in the wilderness with a sword in my hand. I'm coming for you Girl on Fire, wait for me.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I dont own Hunger Games. I am a MAJOR Catoniss shipper. I posted a smaller verison of this one Tumblr, but thought why not post here and add to it?

Once the alarm went off I didn’t waste a second in running towards the cornucopia. I felt the strength in my legs, the wind brushing against my skin, the sound of the other tributes rushing after me. Nothing could beat this high. My eyes caught sight of a gleaming sword that had my name written all over it, it was easy scooping it up and swiftly turning back to cut down a tribute. I didn’t waste time with him, knowing that he was dead already, I ran back into the oncoming wave of tributes that were hoping against hope to get a weapon. Idiots didn’t they understand the hierarchy? I had trained for this my entire life; I had bleed and broken bones to be here. I was king here; they were just sheep for the slaughter. I cut down tribute after tribute, the shrill laughter of Clove reaching my ears. District partner, it didn’t matter she was going to die after her usefulness ended. The girl thought that she actually had a chance at killing me, I drove my sword into the stomach of district Seven, Clove's a good killer but she doesn’t have it in her to take me down. It’s not arrogance, not really, it’s just fact. There’s only one person in this Games that's actually a threat. I look up and see her, district Twelve Katniss Everdeen...Girl on Fire. I see her pick up a bag, automatically lifting it to deflect the knife that Clove threw at her. She turned to look at Clove, a small smug smile on her lips, before she turned her gaze to me.

Those gray eyes, they seemed to want to delve into my soul. I remember the moment when I first saw her. It was after the chariot ride, she was with her team who were all excited about her success. I didn’t know why I was looking at her until she turned feeling my gaze on her. I knew that she was a threat the moment our eyes connected, and I knew that she knew that I was a threat. We spent those days in training eying each other, two apex predators sizing each other. I couldn’t wait for the Games to begin so I could find out who would come out on top, and I know no one would kill her but me. I don’t know how she got the eleven but it didn’t matter, it would only make our fight that much better.

So there she was staring at me from across the blood bath, and I couldn’t help but send her a smirk. This arena was perfect, I felt in my element with blood coating me and the sing of thrill in my blood at killing any obstacle that stood before my path to being Victor. I saw the fear in her eyes, along with her anger and cold determination to survive. In that moment I saw her, all of her, and I wanted her. That wasn’t supposed to happen, this is The Hunger Games; wanting another tribute is suicide. Maybe that’s the angle that her weak district partner is working when he announced to all Panem that he was in love with Katniss. Something must have shown on my face because Katniss cocked her head at me before turning away from the blood bath.

I watched her go for a moment before turning back to kill. I saw the male for district Twelve, Lover boy Clove calls him. He was struggling with another tribute but I didn’t bother going to kill them both. There would be time for that later, besides I wanted to see him struggle over a survival pack. It would be nice to see him die right then and now just because the little fucker wasn’t on my or Katniss’ level.

"Cato the cornucopia is ours." Glimmer whined excitedly.

Like there was ever any doubt that it wouldn’t be. I walked off to the side, ignoring the bloody corpses, and waited for the hovercrafts to come and pick up the dead. More than half gone, this is when the Games really started. The ones that died are the ones who know that they don’t have a chance and commit suicide by not fleeing, and then there are the ones that actually think they have a chance if they can just get a weapon. It’s like they don’t pay attention to the Games passed. The cornucopia is Career tribute land, blood bath zone, we rule here. The cannons were sounding off, the booming sound making me twitch. I killed the majority of tributes, marking me leader of the Career pack but I knew it was going to be me anyway. Glimmer and Marvel killed one each, Clove three and the girl from Four didn’t do shit. She was the weakest link and if she wasn’t careful I would be snapping her neck if she didn’t obey. I glanced at her, her dark blue eyes lowering to the ground. That’s right look down Four.

I looked off into the direction to where the Girl on Fire had run off to. Soon I would be seeing her again. I know she would be hoping to catch us off guard; not to kill us, not yet anyway, but because we had something she desperately wanted. She thought she was being so discreet, but I saw her eying the bow and arrows during training and before the alarm went off. It's true though that no one from the Career pack knew they were too busy intimidating the rest of the tributes. I didn’t have to go to such extremes. I knew that just by looking at me the other tributes knew that I wasn’t one to fuck with, so that left me time to observe Katniss. They thought they were so slick, spending time in the survival stations not doing anything to attract attention and it worked for the most part. They just hadn’t counted on me being a tribute for the Seventy-Fourth Games. I know who their mentor is, Haymitch Abernathy; a dirty old drunk but a Quarter Quell winner. You don’t ignore something like that, not even if they’re constantly being an embarrassment. That old drunk won for a reason, a reason that I won’t ignore or underestimate.

I glanced at Glimmer and smiled at her. She of course smiled seductively back at me, too bad really. Glimmer is beautiful, but she was going to die. That’s why I smiled the poor idiot didn’t realize that she was marked already. Let her think that I’m smiling at her for a different reason, the Capitol will eat it up and I need the sponsors.

Everyone knows that you need the Capitol to love you; you need the Capitol to want you so much that they’ll throw gifts at you so you can kill everyone else and be the Victor. Case in point Finnick Odair, someone sent him a fucking trident. But what you don’t know until you’re actually a tribute is how hard it is to keep their attention and affection on you. Capitol citizens are flighty; they’re easily distracted and so shallow. It’s disgusting really but I would cut off my tongue before I would ever say that aloud. You don’t get sponsors, or escape the Gamemakers, by saying that. You put on a mask, a show, for the people of the Capitol. You turn yourself into what they want, and you make them obsessed with you. I know that I’m good looking, tall and strong, that’s my in with the Capitol my beauty; but these are the Hunger Games. They want seduction, violence and insanity. So that’s what I gave them.

Don’t get me wrong, I am violent and not quite sane. I didn’t become this way without something in me breaking at the Academy, so I used that to my advantage. I turned up the charm while I chatted about breaking necks and spines; I pushed heat into my eyes as I looked to the cameras while giving the audience a dark smile as I vowed to kill everyone to become Victor. I forced my voice to drop in a husky timber as I asked the Capitol to watch me as I brought honor to my district. I sold my image, gave them fantasies and in return I got their support. Anything to win the Games, I just wasn’t counting on district Twelve to amp up their image at the last fucking second.

“This is awesome! Did you see how that kid from Five squealed as I speared him Glimmer?” Marvel said as he practically panted after Glimmer. Glimmer for her part sent him a pretty smile, her eyes sliding to the right to glance at me.

“Yes good kill Marvel.” Clove purred with mocking glee as she wiped her knives clean.

Marvel glared at Clove but didn’t say anything. That’s how it worked; the ones that killed the most are respected. Clove is second in command, Marvel and Glimmer are soldiers and Four is a spare. I stood watching as the cornucopia was emptied, the sounds of the other four becoming background music. I wondered where Katniss was running off to. Was her heart pounding with fear, thinking that I was chasing after her? Was her blood pumping as she raced through the forest, looking for a hiding spot? God I wanted to see her face, tight with terror and that coldness that lay beneath that would ensure her survival. I wondered if she would cry.

I had never felt this way over girl before. At the Academy there was ever only the goal of becoming the best. I was seven when my mother sent me into the Academy in exchange for salvation from hunger. District Two wasn’t poor, but we weren’t rich either. We were loyal to the Capitol in the first war, but we were punished right along with the rest of the districts. Not that I care, I wasn’t alive back then and the Hunger Games made me who I am today. A Career tribute, strong and feared; without it I would have probably become like my father a quarry worker dead when a stone would came loose. That’s why my mother sent me to the Academy, so she wouldn’t starve and so that I wouldn’t die.

I spent my years learning how to endure pain, how to work through it, how to welcome it. I learned how to kill, I learned how to close off my mind and my emotions and I learned how to become Cato, district Two tribute.

I took a breath, feeling at ease in the wilderness with a sword in my hand. I’m coming for you Girl on Fire, wait for me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I get why you two did it, for the sponsors, but don’t expect me to play along. Once we’re in the arena I am going to fight to win.” I said as I walked away feeling horrible but at the same time just. There was no room for love in the Hunger Games only death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's Katniss! I always imagined her harder than the books portrayed her. I think that she wouldn't struggle with the decision to kill if it meant going back to her family.

I always knew that I was different from other girls. I wasn’t sociable, I didn’t feel the need to talk and make friends I had my father and baby Prim and my mom to keep me company. When my father died I found out just how much that difference was. I saw my mother retreat into herself from the shock of losing the love of her life, leaving Prim and myself to fend for ourselves…or more accurately leaving me to fend for her and Prim. I gathered all my strength and out of sheer stubbornness made sure that we didn’t go hungry. Of course not every day was easy; there were some days where we did go hungry. I had tried to make my mother snap out of her daze but after a while I just gave up on her, disgusted that she could just leave us like that as if she had nothing else to live for after my father. I became a mother to Prim, I made sure that she ate, that she was washed and went to school. She was everything good in this world, the one thing that made me go on and do things that would have me executed. So I went out into the forest to hunt with Gale Hawthorne, my best friend, determination filling every inch of my body. Years passed and my mother finally came back to us but by then it was too late for me. I loved her, she is my mother, but I didn’t like her. She passed the days were I struggled to feed us in detachment and expected to come back with me opening my arms to her? No. It was too late for me to ever accept her, but it wasn’t too late for Prim. Prim and my mother got along so well, both blonde haired and blue eyed. Peas in a pod, I resembled my father with the Seam features. She got to be a mother to Prim, but we both knew where we stood in the household hierarchy. I was the one who provided for us, I was the one who would make decisions and I was the one who Prim came to when she was scared or needed help.

My mother threw herself into healing, helping our little family as much as she could. At least there was that. Prim grew so innocent and happy that I dreaded the day when she turned twelve and the Reaping came. I already had my name in the system so many times for the tesserae and had never been called; Prim would only have her name put into once. I held onto this thought as we got ready for the Reaping. As we stood there in lines, separated by age, I couldn’t help but be nervous. I glanced at Gale, handsome hot headed Gale, and got a wink and a slow smile in return.

Gale was tall, olive skinned with dark hair and gray hooded eyes. His lips were full and always with a ready smile. All the girls always trailed after him, wanting a kiss. I could see why, but Gale never tried that with me which I was thankful for. I would never get married. I don’t want what happened to my mother ever happening to me, and I think Gale knew that somehow.

I ignored Effie Trinket, with her bright colored hair and gaudy make-up, until I heard my little duck’s name said in that annoying Capitol accent. I stood feeling shocked and stared at the painted woman in confusion. She couldn’t have said Prim’s name, she only had her name in there once! I turned my head slowly to look at Gale and saw his face pale white, his eyes wide with panic as they connected with my own grey eyes. _Calm down_ , he mouthed at me. I looked to where Prim was, her sweet face filled with fear as the girls her age stepped back from her as if standing closer to her would drag them into the Hunger Games. I felt myself tremble as she tucked in the back of her shirt into her skirt as she slowly made her way to the district escort who had a mile wide smile. No, Prim couldn’t go into the Games. She isn’t built for that, she would die five minutes into the Games. I couldn’t lose her! I strode forward, not noticing the two Peacekeepers coming towards me until they gripped my arms with bruising force and yanked me back.

“I volunteer!” I screamed. I pushed the Peacekeepers away, staring at the Capitol woman with all the hatred I had for the Capitol, “I volunteer as tribute.”

I saw the woman’s blue eyes widen before her smile impossibly grew wider, a drunken Haymitch at her side staring at me in a drunken stupor as he wobbled for balance.

Haymitch Abernathy, district Twelve’s only living Victor after Agnes Wells died of old age. He was an embarrassment, always drunk and making a fool of himself and the district. Since his own Hunger Games there hasn’t been a Victor since, and that’s just another reason why Prim cannot go into the Games. The old drunk would not help her get sponsors or give her survival tips. I at least had some experience in surviving.

I watched Prim run towards me and I pulled her into a tight hug before the Peacekeepers separated us. I cried out and saw Gale run towards us to grab Prim who was crying at me not to go. I turned away, feeling my heart heavy as I climbed the stairs onto the stage.

“District Twelve’s first volunteer! How exciting! What is your name?”

I stared at the woman fascinated and disgusted at how she could smile while sentencing us to death, “Katniss Everdeen.”

Effie smiled; how could she smile at this, “Well, I bet my hat that was your sister, wasn't it?”

“Yes.” I answered her coldly.

She turned from me and reached into the boy’s bowl. “Peeta Mellark.”

I watched as the boy who had once given me bread look up with a stricken expression. I felt my heart give a lurch, no not him anyone but him! I still haven’t paid my debt back and now I have to kill him. I watched as he walked up to where Effie and I stood. I thought about our situation and finally came to a realization as Effie chirped at us to shake hands. I would do everything in my power to come back alive, even if that meant that Peeta Mellark’s death.

We were ushered into the Justice Building and I sat waiting in a room nervous until Prim and my mother came into the room. I rushed towards Prim, hugging her close to me.

“Just try to win. Maybe you can.” Prim pleaded as she dug her small slim fingers into my arms.

“Of course. Maybe I can. I am smart, you know.” I answered with a weak smile.

“And you can hunt.” She added in a soft whisper.

“Exactly.” I said as I drew her away to look at her small upturned face. I stood up and went to my mother, who looked shaken and I felt a surge of fear rise up from the pit of my stomach. “You can't tune out again.” I told her as I hugged her.

“I won't...” She answered weakly as she hugged me back.

That wasn’t good enough. Prim wasn’t going to have me around to make sure she was taken care of. “No. You can't. Not like when dad died. I won't be there anymore, and you're all she has. No matter what you FEEL, you have to BE there for her. Do you understand? Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't... Don't...” I trailed off as Peacekeepers came and took my mother and Prim out of the room. I stood there in nauseating shock before the door opened again and Gale came in and picked me up into his arms, pulling me into his chest tightly. I closed my eyes and nearly cried as I took in his scent and hugged him just as fiercely. “There's twenty-four of us, Gale, and only one comes out.”

“Yeah, and it's gonna be you.” He said into my hair, breathing in my scent. I felt him push me back and lifted my head and looked into my eyes with a hard glint. “Listen to me.”

“Yeah.”

“You're stronger than they are. You are. Get to a bow.” Gale cupped my face as he spoke, his eyes lighting up as he looked at me.

“They may not have one...” I said back as I clutched his strong arms.

“They will if you show 'em how good you are. They just want a good show. That's all they want. If they don't have a bow, then you make one, okay? You know how to hunt.” He said trying to push his words into me, rubbing my cheeks with his thumbs.

“Animals.”

“It's no different, Katniss.” Gale said as he pulled me back into his arms. “Katniss I believe in you, come back to me.”

I hugged him, not wanting to leave his embrace, “Take care of them, Gale. Whatever you do, don't let them starve!” I heard the doors open and held on tighter to Gale, knowing that this was probably the last time I was ever going to see him.

“I won’t, I’ll take care of them Katnip I promise.” He said hoarsely into my hair before he kissed my forehead.

“Times up.” A Peacekeeper said as he grabbed at Gale roughly and yanked him out.

I watched as Gale disappeared behind the door and I was left in a room alone and shaking. I had to pull myself together, I wasn’t going to break. Again the door opened and I hoped for a second that it was Gale, but I saw Madge walk in. Gale was my best friend, but Madge was my best female friend. It was weird really. I was from the Seam, a street rat and Madge was from town the wealthiest girl in district Twelve. She had blond hair, and soft blue eyes. “Madge?”

“I get to see you since my dad’s the Mayor.” She answered. She walked up to me and hugged me. She didn’t say anything and that was the beauty of Madge. Ever since we were little she always knew when I needed silence and when I needed words. She pulled away pinned something on my dress. “You get to take a token, so here.”

I looked down and saw her Mockingjay pin, “Madge I can’t, this is your family heirloom.”

“And I can do with it what I want.” Madge replied with steel in her voice. “I want to you to have it Katniss so that you can always remember us, Gale,” at his name her nose wrinkled in distaste, “Prim everyone from Twelve. You’re the strongest person I know Katniss, and I know that you will win. I know that you’ll survive.” She said as she gave me a strong smile. “Do whatever it takes to win Katniss.”

I felt a tear roll down my cheek. Madge was stronger of the both of us emotionally wise, but I felt comforted that she believed in me and wasn’t shying away at the hard truth of the Games. She knew that for me to win Peeta would have to die.

I watched her go and waited until Effie Trinket came in to collect me. I boarded the train and watched as my home became a blur and went hurtling toward the Capitol.

I really wasn’t paying attention to what happened around me, my mind focused only on surviving the Games. Peeta had tried to talk to me but I brushed him off. I couldn’t be friends with a corpse, no matter what I owed him. Haymitch gave us some lame excuse of telling us to remember that he couldn’t do anything for us to survive the Games. I didn’t let that put me down; I knew from the get-go that Haymitch wouldn’t be of help.

We reached the Capitol and I watched with wide eyes at the tall buildings and the colorful people who waved at us excitedly. I watched as Peeta waved back with a smile, how could he wave at the people that watched kids kill each other for fun? I walked away from him and we were led off the train and into a cold sterilized room with multiple cubicles set up. I was ushered into an empty make-shift room and went through having all my hair, excluding my eyebrows and the hair on my head, removed. They were making us look good, for the Tribute Parade and interviews.

Out of all that there was one person that actually gave me a sense of comfort, my stylist Cinna. He wasn’t as colorful as the rest of the Capitol people, all he had was golden eyeliner and a leather outfit. Soon he had Peeta and I dressed up in a black garb that he said would light on fire as we moved. I was secretly glad, one time they had tributes from Twelve ride out naked and covered in coal dust. Peeta and I climbed up the chariot, the last in line, and waited for our turn to go. Peeta tried to talk to me again, and I gave me a glare that had him looking away. Why couldn’t he understand that we can’t be friends? This is the Games, not a damn sleepover.

Soon our horses began trotting out and I felt cool warmth all over my body. I was on fire and the crowd was going wild. I looked around, the colorful blurs of the Capitol sweeping past me as Peeta smiled and waved. I looked up at a large screen and saw my face. My hair was swept away from my face and into a complicated up do, my eyes were surrounded by black liner and my lips were colored a soft pink color and a dumbfounded expression on my face. Surrounding me were bright red flames. Cinna was a genius.

I felt a sweaty hand reach for mine and I yanked my hand away, glaring at Peeta.

“Come on, I bet they’d go crazier if we hold hands.” Peeta said with a wary grin.

I glared at him and slowly held his hand, Peeta lifting it into the air. Peeta was right the crowd went wild, screaming our district number. Okay so maybe Peeta had a point, we just made the Capitol forget about the rest of the districts. I felt giddiness in my heat, maybe I can win this as in really win.

We pulled away and stepped down, our team coming to swarm us. I stared off into the distance until I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise. It felt like I was being watched by an animal that would at any moment leap out to attack me. I turned to look, because how could I not look, and pale blue eyes glared at me with coldness. I tensed as district Two stared at me. Cato. I heard whispers about him from the stylists, but those whispers were nothing compared to the real thing.

Cato was tall, almost taller than Gale, and muscular. His shoulders were broad and his arms defined with strength. His chest was firm and his waist slimmed down to meet his hips that flowed down to powerful legs. He was the image of a warrior, a beautiful warrior. Blonde hair and eyes so light that they resembled ice shards. If I wasn’t in the Games I would bet that he would win the Games, but I am in the Games and I knew that he was the one to beat in order to go home. The rest of the tributes, they paled in comparison next to Brutal Cato as they called him. He was a threat and watching him watch me, I was oddly flattered that he thought the same about me.

The next time I saw him was inside the training room, and everywhere I went I felt those eyes burning a hole on my back. I kept away from the bow and arrows that they had, my eyes staying on them for a few seconds, even though it tore at me that Glimmer from district One was using them and failing.

When I didn’t feel him trying to mark me with his eyes, I was watching him learning his strengths and weaknesses. He didn’t have many, weaknesses. I could almost say that he had none, but everyone has one no matter how hard they try to hide it. It was only due to my stalking that I noticed that he swung a bit stiffly with his left arm when he was practicing his swordsmanship; an old wound not healed correctly, but not enough to weaken him unfortunately.

I was getting agitated; I was ready to get the Games over with. I was tired of being surrounded by kids that I knew had to die, hated being with Peeta all day and night knowing that I would kill him myself if he got in my way.

Finally we had our interviews and I was a nervous wreck. Haymitch was moaning and groaning about how unlikable I was and I was getting sick of it. I don’t care if the Capitol liked me or not! They could all go to hell, well maybe except Cinna and Effie; the two had grown on me like fungus.

My interview came and went, my mind a sluggish pace that all I remembered was Caesars blinding white smile and my twirling flames. I was backstage, the rest of the tributes and I all huddled close to a large viewing screen, watching Peeta’s interview. He knew how to work the crowd; he would get sponsors for sure. Just as Caesar was wrapping up the interview he asked him about if there was a girl that he liked.

And that was when Peeta told all of Panem that he came with the girl he liked.

I stood there feeling the tributes gazes on me, Cato’s in particular burned ice hot, and I flushed with anger. I clenched my fists and as soon as Peeta made his way backstage I left, because if I stayed I would go for his throat and be disqualified.

The ride back up to our floor was silent and once we were safely off the elevator I pushed Peeta and held him against the wall, my forearm at his throat. “What the hell was that! You don’t talk to me and suddenly you’re in love with me?”

Peeta stared at me with wide panicked eyes, “I’m helping you!”

“I never asked for your help! This is the Hunger Games! Only one can live!” I shouted as I pushed my arm tighter against his throat. Just then the elevators opened again and arms were pulling me back.

“What in the world is going on!” Effie cried as she stepped closer to us.

The scent of liquor surrounded me, “Talk to me.”

“He just made me look weak!” I cried out feeling rage at my district partner.

“He made you look desirable.” Haymitch drawled out as he loosened his hold on me. “Katniss before you were the girl from district Twelve that volunteered for her sister, now you’re the Girl on Fire, star-crossed lover. You’ll both get sponsors now.”

I shook my head. I knew that it was a great ploy but the fact that they went about it behind my back and didn’t even bother to ask me made me so angry. “I didn’t ask for that, I don’t feel anything for him.” I said as I glared at them both. “You helped me out once long ago and I’m grateful for that Peeta, and I hate that you were Reaped but the fact doesn’t change that I am going to try my hardest to win this Game. Even if it means killing you, I am prepared to do that so this thing that you and Haymitch cooked up,” I said as I stepped closer to Peeta, “just made it that much harder. Not impossible but harder. The sponsors won’t like me after we enter the arena and see me spare you no mercy.”

“Katniss-” Peeta started before I interrupted.

“I get why you two did it, for the sponsors, but don’t expect me to play along. Once we’re in the arena I am going to fight to win.” I said as I walked away feeling horrible but at the same time just. There was no room for love in the Hunger Games only death.

At last I was being raised into the arena, my heart beating impossibly fast, hoping that the Gamemakers gave us a good place to survive in. Bright sunlight blinded me for a second and then a burst of green filled my vision. A fucking forest! I wanted to laugh hysterically and jump up and down. The sounds of birds and the gentle breeze swaying the leaves gave me hope. The Gamemakers just single handedly gave me the win. This is my territory I would dominate in this arena. I looked out at the cornucopia and saw a silver bow and arrows and felt a smile fight against my lips. Things were getting better and better.

The alarm rang throughout the clearing and there was a moment of stillness before everyone jumped into action. I ignored the tributes that ran away from the blood bath. I dodged the ones running towards a quick death, my eyes solely focused on the bow and arrows. I ran and felt a fury unlike anything that I’ve ever felt in my life fill my body.

Glimmer had taken my bow and arrows.

I wanted to tear them away from her inept hands but she was surrounded by Careers and I didn’t have a death wish. I settled on a survival bag which I picked up just as I saw the little she-devil from Two turn in my direction. I hefted the bag higher and felt the impact of a knife. At least now I have a weapon. I tugged it out and turned to smile at the girl enjoying the sight of her face flushed red with anger.

I was about to turn away when I saw him, Cato.

He stood proud and tall, the sun kissing his sweat slicked skin as he held his bloodied sword as if it were an extension of his own limb. I felt my heart pump harder at the sight of him, my rival. He was staring at me with a little smirk and I don’t know how long I was standing there staring at him like an idiot in the middle of the blood bath, but I noticed that his impressive eyes widened with shock and horror. I tilted my head, what the hell was that? It was quickly gone and I finally turned away from him and ran into the woods.

I didn’t stop until I felt safe enough away from him and then I decided that I needed a plan. I needed that bow and arrow from Glimmer, and I know that she wouldn’t give it up without a fight. I looked down at the knife that I held in a white knuckled grasp, good thing that I had this then.

I was going to win this Game, I was in a forest, the Gamemakers provided me with a bow; Gale and Prim were no doubt cheering for me back home feeling the same hope that I did when I first took a look at the arena. I was going to win this Game no matter whose throat I had to slice.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I shivered at the heat that I saw there. Katniss looked like a feral creature of the night; her dark tresses blending into the night, the shadows darkening her eyes making it look like her eyes were burning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Cato!!! So as you can tell this is AU and is going off the canon tracks. As always please enjoy!!! Hungers Games isn't mine!!!

Already the majority of the tributes were dead, only the best and the stubborn were left. Glimmer was also dead; killed just like how I predicted.

We were doing a night raid, picking off the tributes that were dumb enough to let down their guards at night when we found him. Lover Boy; he was propped up against a tree when we came across him. Clove was all for killing him, and not gonna lie I wanted to kill him too, but he cut us off with offering us the Girl on Fire. That was the only reason why I had let him live, we all knew that Katniss was a threat and we all wanted her dead. If Lover Boy could lead us to her than he would live just a bit longer, it was later on in the raid that Lover Boy earned his spot by killing a tribute who had foolishly lit a fire. 

It was then, in the darkness as we walked away from the cannon fire that Katniss struck. 

Glimmer had fallen behind to talk to Marvel, ignoring her surroundings as usual, when out of the darkness Katniss struck Marvel with the butt of the knife knocking him out. We heard Marvel’s body drop like a stone to the ground and looked up to see Katniss dragging Glimmer back, a hand covering district One’s grunts, before raising her other hand. I saw the glint of Cloves knife before the Girl on Fire plunged it into Glimmers throat and dragged it across severing her jugular. Blood sprayed out like a fountain and within seconds had Glimmers shirt soaked in blood. 

We all stood there in shock at what happened, even me. It isn’t every day that you see someone getting killed like that. Katniss looked at us, noticing that Lover Boy was with us, before locking her eyes on me. I shivered at the heat that I saw there. Katniss looked like a feral creature of the night; her dark tresses blending into the night, the shadows darkening her eyes making it look like her eyes were burning. Katniss worked fast, using our shock to slip off the bow and arrows off Glimmer’s rapidly cooling corpse and to take back her bloodied knife. In the time that it took us to blink she was already racing off into the night, disappearing from our sight and that was not acceptable.   
I took off after her, my heart pounding from seeing her kill…seeing how magnificent she looked as she took what she wanted. I needed to get to her, I needed to see those eyes again, I needed to touch her to see if she was real. I heard the boom of the cannon go off signally Glimmer’s death but I ignored it. I could barely make out Katniss’ braid swaying back and forth almost hypnotically as she ran away from us, away from me. Clove had caught up to me, curses falling from her mouth at how she was going to skin Katniss alive. Lover Boy was oddly quiet and district Four was panting as she followed us. Marvel we had left behind. 

Soon we caught up to her but Katniss was already making her way up a tree with a swiftness that surprised me. How did she learn to climb so well? I didn’t waste time on that, I immediately jumped onto the tree and began to scale it. 

“Not so fast Girl on Fire,” I sang out to her as I climbed, “I just want to talk.”

“I’d rather not.” She said back to me as she climbed higher and higher. 

“Why not? I’d think that you’d want to hear what I wanna say.” I said with a grin. 

Katniss chuckled at me as she straddled a branch and looked down at me, her eyes lit up with amusement. “I wouldn’t come any closer Two, and trust me the only thing I wanted to hear from you is your last dying breath.”

“Such a tease Girl on Fire.” I smirked at her as I reached up and grabbed a branch. I pulled myself up and heard a sharp crack. I looked up to her and saw her smile at me before waving at me as the branch broke and I was free falling. I didn’t scream, my breath was lodged in my chest as the sensation of being weightless shocked my system. I felt a fear grip my heart as I locked eyes with Katniss. Those grey eyes staring at me, burning me with their glee at me seeing me fall…hoping that I would die as I hit the ground. The impact was just as shocking as when I was falling. The ground pushed my breath out my body, leaving me breathless for panicked filled seconds before I dragged oxygen in with harsh pants. My eyes closed in pain as the ground attempted to break my body, my head feeling heavy from the pain. I laid there motionless as I tried not to throw up, tried to get my bearings back, tried to fucking breath as my mind was struggling to reboot from the shock of it all. 

I felt hands touch my neck, trying to assess the damage. District Four, my mind supplied as it slowly regained full function. She had been regulated as medic in our little group. I lay there dragging in air into my lungs as Clove and Lover Boy tried to hurl knives at Katniss. Unsuccessful, but at least they were trying to get revenge for me. Slowly my breaths slowed down and my lungs cooled down from the burning sensation that they had when I couldn’t do something as simple as breathing. 

“Make camp.” I said hoarsely to the group. There was no way I was going to be getting up anytime soon. 

“She’s going to have to come down some time.” Lover Boy added with a careless shrug as he turned away from the tree that housed the love of his life, supposed love of his life. 

Clove hissed and growled as she lost another knife and turned away to sit down close to me and Four. We didn’t light any fires, we’re not stupid, and so we huddled close for body heat. Four was to take the first watch, Clove the second, Lover Boy third and I would take last watch. It was during Lover Boy’s watch that everything went to hell. 

“Wake up!” Lover Boy screamed with fear in his voice. 

I woke up, jumping to my feet with a hiss of pain as my back screamed in pain, Four and Clove scrambling up a second after me. “What’s going on?” I asked him. 

Lover Boy’s face was white, his eyes wide and his pupils dilated so wide that only a thin band of blue could be seen around the engorged black pupil. “Tracker jackers!” 

“Run!” I shout as the nest that I just noticed falling down hit the ground and tore open to unleash a horde of buzzing killers. Tracker jackers were deadly wasps that the Capitol genetically modified for the civil war back in the day. A sting of their venom could kill a person, or give them hallucinations to drive them mad. “Get to water!” Tracker jackers would hunt down anyone who disturbed their nest not stopping until they stung their prey. Water was a good defense and helped with stings. I had to hand it to Katniss, great way to get us to move away from her but it was a double edged sword; she left herself open to stings too. I felt a powerful stab on my back and screamed. Shit I got stung. I ran, my breath coming out in rapid wheezes as I floundered for a while until I ripped out the barbed stinger. The trees were bending all around me, the green growing painfully bright before swiftly changing colors. I felt drunk as I ran, another painful stab clearing my mind for a hurtful second before plunging back into madness. I saw a rocking blue, and I hoped to hell that it was water. I let myself drop, feeling hot all over and nauseous. The water surrounded me was a kick to my nerves, helping me fight against the mind trip that the venom was causing me. I sluggishly lifted my arm and pulled out the second stinger before pushing my head above water. I pulled in a breath and opened my eyes. 

The forest was spinning; the brown of the bark dripping off the tree and the ground became swirling holes. The loud buzzing of the tracker jackers became a loud crescendo and moved the air around them. Clove was to my left, her body melting into the water; Lover boy was just diving into the water, his body dispersing like air and Four was already in the water her body turning into a fish. I could feel the venom and blood oozing out of me, my head becoming heavy. The tracker jackers had flown off, the air moving around them like waves and I hauled myself out. I could feel the water trying to drag me down, trying to make me stay with it but I didn’t want to. I had to get out because I only wanted one person dragging me down with them, and that was Katniss.   
I crawled until I was on the ground and closed my eyes, the grass was laughing at me taunting me. I fell asleep in seconds, the screaming of the wind the last thing that I heard. 

I don’t know how long it was until I finally woke up, the venom of the tracker jacker out my system. I think it might have been a couple of days because my stomach felt like it was trying to eat itself, and my throat felt tight with thirst. My back felt like shit, the tracker jacker sting making things worse, and my arm felt as broken. I knew it wasn’t but the pain of being stung was so strong that I couldn’t help checking my arm just in case. My arms shook as I pushed myself up and I wobbled my way to where I saw Clove strewn about inches away from the water. Four was on her back, and I could barely see Lover Boy from the bushes where he managed to crawl into. 

Katniss-5.

Careers-0.

Girl on Fire managed to knock a Career out, slit another ones throat, get her hands on her preferred weapon, got me to climb after her like a dumbass and fall from a tree, drop a fucking tracker jacker nest on us, and crippled us with venom and hallucinations. It’s a wonder that only one of us was dead. I wonder if Katniss got stung too and if she lived. I walked over to my fallen comrades and checked them over. Four had the sense of mind to take out the stinger from her arm, I yanked out a stinger that Clove still had on her side. Clove groaned from the pain and woke up to curse at me. Lover Boy had a stinger lodge between his shoulders blades. I smiled as I yanked it out chuckling at his little cry. “Wake up ladies, we got work to do.” 

Clove managed to get on her knees, “I’m going to kill that fucking bitch slowly and painfully.”

“How about you stand up before dealing out death threats.” I snickered at her as she turned to glare at me. 

“Fuck you Cato.” Was her comeback. 

“You wish.” I laughed at her rage induced flush. 

“I think I’m going to throw up.” Lover Boy said weakly as his pale face took on a sickly shade. He rushed up and twisted as he emptied his stomach in the bushes. 

“It’s safe to say that the venom ran its course and we’re not going to die.” Four announced as she slowly walked over to where I was. 

“Fucking Twelve.” Clove hissed. 

Fucking Twelve indeed, she did a number on us speaking of which, “We need to go back to base.”

“How much you wanna bet that Marvel is there eating and sleeping without a care in the fucking world?” Clove asked with a sneer on her face. 

I had forgotten about Marvel. “He might have died when we were knocked out.”

“One can only hope.” Clove said as she walked to me and Four. 

“What about Katniss?” Lover Boy asked as he wobbled his way over to us, his hand clutched to his stomach. 

“What about her Lover Boy?” Clove asked with a dangerous glint in her eyes 

Lover Boy stared at her for a few seconds in a daze, “I mean shouldn’t we go after her? She might have been stung like us and is knocked out, vulnerable.” 

Clove’s face took on a pondering expression; Four was waiting silently next to me waiting for orders, and I watched Lover Boy. There was something about the way he was asking that was rubbing me the wrong way. Before Clove could answer I told them that Katniss could wait. We needed food and weapons before we went after the Girl on Fire again. Clove’s face twisted in anger. You know Clove wasn’t ugly; her face was small and heart shaped. Doe brown eyes, a small upturned nose and cupid bow lips. She was pretty until she let her true nature out, then she just looked like a demented pixie. 

“Cato we should get back before nightfall.” Four said lowly. 

I turned to look at her, really look at her, before nodding. Four reached up to the middle of my chest, her skin a tan brown from living in District Four. She had long black hair that was pulled into a long braid, a square jaw and hooded dark eyes. Not exactly a beauty but not ugly, she just looked like a meek little mouse that had muscular arms and legs. 

We were back-tracking our steps, wincing at where we got stung started to form bruises. It wasn’t until near dusk that we broke through the trees exhausted and caught sight of Marvel and a short dark haired boy. I scowled as I felt an anger rise up inside me. Marvel, the pathetic waste of space, was calmly eating our food lording over some kid while the rest of us were actually getting shit done. I heard Clove curse under her breath as we got closer. Marvel, at this point, heard us and widened his eyes at the sight of us. 

“Hey where were you guys? I woke up and I was alone so I headed back to base.” He said miffed as he glared at us. “I met district Three on the way back and decided that he could be of some use.” 

“And you didn’t bother to even look for us? Did it ever occur to you that we might’ve needed fucking back-up?” I growled at him, walking into his space. He was sitting down and I towered over him, I saw that Three had scooted well away from us. Good instinct, if he was any closer I would have broken his neck. “And why the hell would you pick up a tribute? You should have just killed him.” 

Marvel shot up to his feet, the promise of violence in his face. “How the hell was I supposed to know which direction you guys had gone off too? I woke up and heard the nightly recap and whose face do I see? Glimmer’s! So let’s review the fucking facts of fearless leader,” Marvel sneered as he raised a finger, “I get knocked out and when I wake up none of my group is around. Two I see Glimmer’s face in the sky, and three I’m walking alone in the dark back to base when I run into Three. Gee what’s a guy to do when faced with that?” 

I clenched my jaw and resisted punching him in the face, because if I started I know I wouldn’t be able to stop until he was dead and like it or not I still needed Marvel. I turned to look at Three, who was staring at me with terror filled eyes and asked him what the hell he could do. 

“I…um…I saw that the land mines from the first day are still here. I could get them working again and place them around here for protection?” 

I stared at him and nodded. Three would live to see another day, I turned back to look at Marvel who was till glaring at me. “Next time don’t be such an idiot as to forget your surroundings. If you get knocked out again I’ll kill you myself.” 

We stayed there for two days getting back our strength. On the third we rose and walked into the forest to hunt down Katniss. We followed our very noticeable tracks when suddenly I heard Four screech out a warning. I immediately dropped to the ground just as a giant ball of fire came flying overhead. Holy shit, the Gamemakers were not happy with no deaths in days. I stood and looked all around and saw fire. Given no choice I ran in the one direction that wasn’t on fucking fire. I knew what they were doing, they were herding us together so that we could rip each other’s throats out. The Capitol was no doubt itching for excitement. We ran, dodging fireballs and walls of fire. Out of the brush came a red headed girl with high cheekbones and a thin frame. She crashed into Three and was about to run off in a different direction when the Gamemakers decided that no she would be better off with us. A wall of fire erupted from the ground and the redhead quickly twisted and ran alongside us. I didn’t have time to kill her; no one did as we ran to escape the flames and smoke. 

The fire starts to lessen until the only thing that surrounds us is faint strings of smoke. 

“What the fuck.” Marvel rasps out as he walks away. 

I don’t talk, focusing on breathing clean air. 

“Well would you look at that.” Marvel says before falling into harsh coughs.

I look over to him, and see him bent over coughing before he points up. I look up and see Katniss dirty from the smoke, her face clinched in pain, and the little girl from Eleven. I smirk and look around. Almost all the survivors are here except for the male for district Eleven. The redhead is trying to slowly back away from us and run into the forest but my gaze has her frozen in her steps. 

Before I could speak Claudius Templesmith’s booming voice cuts throughout the forest.

“Tributes, here you are gathered together for the first time since the beginning of the Games a week ago.” 

Shit it’s already been a week?

“Some of you are injured, starved, or are in need of something. I invite you to partake in the feast that will be starting in three hours’ time. Until then may the odds be ever in your favor.” 

I stood there thinking over the man’s words. What did I need? Painkillers, from the fall from the tree and the tracker jacker stings my body is one big bruise; but I could function with the pain. A weapon? I had my sword with me and if I didn’t my body was trained for combat. So what did I need? 

“The feast is going to be at the cornucopia.” Clove whispered to me. 

I didn’t acknowledge her, I knew that that was where they were going to have it. We would need to leave now to even make it in time and ahead of anyone else. I looked to Clove and I could see that she knew what I was thinking. I looked around and saw Lover Boy staring at Katniss, Four was staring at me waiting for a cue similar to what Three and Marvel were doing. The redhead had inched closer to the forest, a determined look on her face. That sly mother fucker, she sure was silent. I looked up and saw the little girl who could be passed off as a fairy whispering to Katniss. 

I took off running and that seemed to have been a signal for everyone else to move out. I heard the rustling of leaves and figured that Katniss and Eleven were traveling by tree, the redhead had sprinted off into the forest without a sound, and my crew were running behind me. As I ran I swore that I could feel every second ticking by, counting down the time until the feast. We managed to get to edges of the clearing with minutes to spare and I held up a hand. We stood at the edge of the clearing and waited for the table to appear. The Gamemakers no doubt knew where we had planted the mines and so I had a rough idea to wear it was going to come up. I looked up and I could barely see Katniss and Eleven in the trees above, waiting to rush forward.   
The minutes ticked by and Claudius’ voice rang out, making my heart beat fast. I felt the sweat roll down my back from running, and took deep even breaths to calm down. 

“Ten, nine, eight, seven, s-six,” his voice disrupted by a blare of static. 

I frowned as a twisted dark feeling began to gather at the pit of my stomach. 

“…power….s-stand-by…” 

I watched as something in the sky flashed and with a gasp saw that what looked like a force field shutting down. I waited minutes in silence, waiting for that booming voice in the sky to tell us that everything was alright, that everything was on schedule but nothing…nothing but overwhelming silence. 

“What the fuck is going on?” I asked to no one in particular.

A twig snapped to my left and I had my sword out of its sheath so fast and pointed at whoever thought it was a good idea to sneak up on me. Large green eyes stared at me, thin body taunt as she waited for me to lower my sword. I raised it higher until she shrilly yelled out her district number. District Five, they’re responsible for powering Panem. I lowered my sword and raised a brow. 

“Something must have gone majorly wrong for that force field to go down. If that went down then that means that not only has the power supply stopped but also the back-up generators.” Five said as she stared at me with those large green eyes of hers. 

“How long?” I asked as I looked up and saw Katniss and Eleven looking down at us from above. 

“Power failure of that magnitude…I’d say three days.”

I cracked my neck as I thought. Three days with no power, no Capitol watching us, no Gamemakers herding us to the slaughter and no reason to kill without it being recorded. It also meant that all the food that we had stored at the cornucopia was up for grabs. I bent to pick up a large rock and turned to face the steel structure in the middle of the clearing. “Brace yourselves!” I drew back my arm and threw to where I knew a landmine was buried. I threw myself on the ground and waited for the explosion that never came. I slowly stood up and turned to look at Three, “Not that I’m complaining, but why didn’t it go off?”

Three looked up from his prone position on the ground, his ashen colored face making him look unhealthy. “Those land mines run on their own power source, a battery if you will, for that to also be shut down then what caused the power failure had to be a very powerful EMP.” 

Five was nodding, “That makes sense. If it were a simple power failure then that land mine should have gone off.” Five closed her eyes in realization, “Since it’s an EMP, a powerful one, then that means that those three days that I said before are wrong.”

“So what you’re saying is that we’re stuck here?” Katniss asked from her branch. 

“Not necessarily.” Five answered, her thin figure giving her a gaunt appearance. “The force field went down, which means that we can walk out of the arena and make our way to the nearest district.”

“That don’t mean nothing if we don’t even know where we’re at.” A deep rumbling voice said to our far left. 

I tensed up and looked at the male from Eleven, Thresh. 

“Thresh!” The fairy girl from Eleven chirped from above. 

“Rue.” 

The warmth in his voice annoyed me, what was this a reunion? “Since every fucking district is coming out of the woodwork might as well go to the cornucopia and figure out what we’re gonna do.” I said as I sheathed my sword and walked out the trees. 

“You really think we’re dumb enough to follow you?” Katniss sneered from above her perch. 

I turned to give her a pointed look, “You heard Five, the power is off and will be for who the fuck knows how long. That means that the hidden cameras don’t work, that means that the Capitol has no way of getting to us, no way to broadcast us for the Capitol. That means no sponsors, no way to get whatever the hell we were going to get at the feast. So I have no need to kill anyone if I’m not gaining anything. If you want to stay up there like a scared little girl then be my guest, but me and my crew are going to the cornucopia to eat.” 

I didn’t wait to see if she had climbed off her damn high horse and followed. I bypassed the mines and sat down on an empty crate, my crew settling down around me even Lover Boy. Slowly Five, Thresh, Katniss and Rue joined the group with wary eyes. Three opened a crate and passed out rations, being the least dangerous one in the group had its perks. 

“Even if we do decide to head out the arena, which direction do we go?” Clove asked as she ripped open a package of beef jerky. “We have no clue where the arena is.”

“It’d have to be close to the Capitol.” Three said as he sat down next to Lover Boy. “The distance from the hotel to the launch pads wasn’t that great, so we have to be nearby.”

“Okay…we need a map.” Marvel said. “Anyone have one?” He asked with a jeer. 

Five frowned, “I think I can make one.” She turned to Katniss and asked for an arrow. With it she stood and began to carve into the ground. 

“You sure you know what you’re doing Five?” Katniss asked as she stared at the lines on the ground.

“I have a photographic memory. I know what I’m doing.” Five snapped back as her arm moved back and forth until finally she stopped and stepped back. 

I stood and there on the ground was a map Panem. “How did you even get your hands on a map” I asked the question that everyone was itching to ask. The Capitol didn’t want any of the districts to know where the other was. Ever since that Dark Days all districts were cut off from each other to prevent any uprising. 

“In Five we have to know where the power is going. Only the top know, but they’re sloppy and didn’t turn off their computers when I went by to pick up the trash.” Five said with a small smile. 

I gave her a quick grin and studied the map. Five had labeled that districts and for the first time I was able to see just where we are were from. One, Two, Four and Five were close by to the Capitol; Three was further apart and Eleven and Twelve were the furthest. Okay so now that we had a map we had to figure which district had similar terrain as the arena. “Any one of your districts look like this one?” I asked. 

“It isn’t Four, according to this map we’re west of the Capitol and close to the ocean. No way it’s my district.” Four said. 

“Can’t be Five, there’s no way the Hunger Games would be placed so close to our district for security measures.”

“It’s not Twelve.” Katniss said primly from her spot across from me. 

“Not Eleven.” Thresh and Rue said together. 

“It can’t be One we don’t really have forests like this.” Marvel said. 

“It could be close to Three.” Three said softly. 

“So which way do we go?” Lover Boy asked to a silent group of Tributes. 

I looked at the map and cracked my neck. My body was sending waves of pain to my exhausted brain, I was hungry and tired of the Games. Who knew when the power would start up, who knew what was going on out in the world. Without power how was anyone going to find us, and when they found us no doubt they’d just stick us back into the Games. “Five, Three,” I called as a crazy plan started forming in my mind, “which district has the least power and technological movement?”   
I could feel a burning gaze on me, I knew that Katniss was staring at me wondering just what the hell I was doing. 

“District Twelve.” They said at the same time. 

I looked at the map and saw that district Three and district Twelve bordered each other. “If you say that we’re close to Three then we could make our way to Twelve from there.” 

“Why?” Katniss asked me. 

I looked up and searched her grey eyes only to see a faint spark of hope under heavy wariness. 

“Because when they manage to get the power back up do you think that they’ll just let us go? They’ll put us right back into the arena.”

“I thought you would have liked being in the Games? Killing as you please and becoming Victor.” She asked with a dangerous edge. 

“And I would. If the Games were still on I would cut each and every one of you down and take the crown with my bloodied hands.” I said with a cold promise, “But since the Games are stopped if I can get out from the Capitols thumb then I will. I’m a survivor Katniss, I’m not going to stay here with a thumb up my ass waiting for the Capitol to come and make me a puppet.” 

Katniss stared at me and finally gave me a small smirk. “Going to Twelve is a long journey,” she said as she pointed to the map without taking her eyes off me, “this food isn’t going to last. You’re going to need a hunter.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If there was a way to get out of this madness and get back to Prim, mom, Madge and Gale then as God as my witness I would grab it with both hands. Anyone who got in my way could fight me and die because I wasn't going to go down without a fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Katniss POV. As always I don't own The Hunger Games, please enjoy! I guess I should warn against a little scene towards the end wheres theres consensual uh mutilation. It's not like a weird thing, it's actually necessary for plot but if that freaks you out then skip it please.

I watched as Peeta kept his distance, hanging about with the little murderess from district Two. I don't know if his whole 'i came with the girl that I like' was truly a cover so that he could lure me into lowering my guard to make it easier for him to kill me. Before I would have said that Peeta didn't the stones to pull off such a scheme, but...but...

Things change don't they? Welcome to The Hunger Games. 

Regardless there's no way that I can trust him again, so in the end it's good that he's keeping his distance. Maybe he knows that if he even breathes wrong I'd gut him. 

God, a week in and now I'm thinking of murder as if it were normal. 

I look away from Peeta hoping that with the change of scenery my murderous urges will fade, unfortunately my eyes lands on Brutal Cato. Ever since I had thrown my chips in with him.

You're going to need a hunter.

If there was a way to get out of this madness and get back to Prim, mom, Madge and Gale then as God as my witness I would grab it with both hands. Anyone who got in my way could fight me and die because I wasn't going to go down without a fight. Feeling my resolve harden I watch as Cato is huddled close with Five and Three, no doubt interrogating them for every single detail that they could remember. I'm not scared of him betraying me, of any of them betraying me...except maybe Marvel. Cato by just saying that he wanted out of The Hunger Games would be killed, Five and Three for giving information and a map of Panem, Four and the rest for joining in. Marvel though...he had a dark look in his eyes. I would have to keep an eye on him, making sure he wouldn't fuck us over. Either way I' comforted with the fact that even if I do go down Cato will be right there beside me. It's almost hilarious by how much that makes me happy. I look away, knowing that my staring is just wasting time. Instead I go back to what I was doing before I started contemplating murder. Rue and Thresh had went into the forest and collected as much branches as they could carry. I took to whittling them down into makeshift arrows. Eventually the arrows that the Capitol provided would run out, I wanted to have a store of them for when that happened. So far I had a nice pile going. 

I whittled two more arrows before I paused, looking up and stretching my arms and hands. The sun had dipped and still I have nerves; I won't rest easy until we're far from Capitol control. Five and Three say that the power getting knocked out by an EMP tells them more than just that the power in Panem being out. An EMP, as they told us that first night when the power was out, was not a weapon that the Capitol would want to go off without their say so or even at all. The two teens looked at each, eyes wide with disbelief and fear. They spoke of have an EMP launched at district Five could only be caused by a hostile outside force. Needless to say that tidbit caused everyone to cry out in chaos. I had sat there, motionless, as the fact that war was quite possibly being waged out in the districts. Thoughts of if the war had reached Twelve or not had me looking to Cato only to find him looking at me with a look of stress. We both stared as Five and Three went on with their theories; how it was almost ingenious to plan an attack when all the districts would be glued to their screens watching the Games, how almost all the power would go to this event, how that made the Capitol vulnerable. Since then Cato been walking about with a thunderous expression. 

Clove and Peeta were assigned ration duty, separating what could last a long journey and what would spoil quickly. Marvel and Three were assigned weapons detail; anything and everything that could be fashioned into a weapon was to be taken. Five and Four were gathering all the packs littered about in the steel cornucopia, emptying them out of packing them tightly with supplies. Thresh and Rue were out in the forest, bringing back medicinal plants and fruits and wood. 

I look around and see that Five and Three have gone to their assigned partners and that Cato is making his way to me. I lower my knife, looking up at him with a guarded expression. 

"I don't want to linger here another day," Cato says as he settles down next to me, "I don't want to give the Capitol a chance remember us."

"I have been of the mind," I say in agreement, "I would feel better out of the arena and out in the wild." I look at Cato and suddenly gasp a I remember, "Even if we leave the arena before the power comes back, if it comes back, the Capitol still has a way of tracking us."

Cato frowns, "How-" he begins to say before he curses loudly, hand gripping his forearm, "of course! The trackers that shot into us before we were sent here."

His shout has attacked the rest and they make their way to us. Cato tells the group about the trackers and I see that they all look to their arms in disgust and fear. It's Clove who steps out in front with a determined look. 

"The solution is simple," she says as she pulls out a knife quickly from somewhere that I can't quite find, "we need it cut it out."

"No way I'm letting you near me with a knife." I say, eyes narrowing in distrust especially when the she-devil grins at me. 

"Out of all of us I am the best in wielding knives. Even at the academy I scored better than Cato. I know exactly how and where to cut so that you won't bleed out instantaneously." Clove says prettily before looking at her forearm for a second and then suddenly plunging her knife into her muscle. 

Cries echo out through the clearing as we all watch aghast as the thirteen year old calmly, with a slight grimace of pain, wields the knife about in her arm. I can't help but be grossly impressed with the she-devils fortitude as she pulls out the knife and clenching her teeth on the handle to hold it. We all watch as she plunges her slim fingers into the bloody wound and after a few heart-pounding seconds of silence she pulls out a small device covered in blood. Clove lays it on a log before lifting her foot and slamming it down, effectively destroying the tracker. 

Grabbing her knife anew, leaving bloody streaks near her mouth, she points to Four, "Get me the med kits." Four rushes to comply and soon the two girls are stitching the surprisingly small and clean cut close. Wrapping it close Clove disinfects her knife and looks at them all, her pixie features pinched and pale but still smirking. "So who's next?"

I look at everyone, their faces fixed on shocked and fascination, and step close noticing that Cato had stepped in tandem with me. I look over at him, his eyes on mine, ignoring the knife wielding smirking Clove standing in front of us, and give him a nod. It's a nod that tells him that I am not backing down, that I am going with him regardless of who else joins us. He made a promise, a plan, to leave this forsaken arena and head to Twelve. I shrugged out of my jacket, my arms feeling the heat of the sun, and hold it out. I watch as Cato keeps his eyes on me, even as Clove's small slender calloused hands grab my forearm with surprising strength. I feel the point of the knife on my skin and I feel my skin prickling with awareness; none of that matters because I focus on Cato and as Clove cuts into my meat I know that this is a declaration of allegiance between us steeped and sealed with blood. 

Cato nods back at me, once Clove destroys the tracker and Four is stitching me up; he keeps his gaze on mine after Clove cleans her knife and grabs his arm. As the scent of his blood hits me Cato grins, "With this blood I do swear...you and me Katniss...forever."


End file.
